Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Dorothy Mastel goes for the loose ball against Loyola.
The Lady Trojans lock in on defense.
While they were unable to walk away with a victory, the Whitehall High School girls basketball team played some of their best basketball season in the second half of a loss Friday night against Missoula Loyola.
After trailing 25-14 at halftime, Whitehall would claw their way back into the game in the fourth quarter and closed to within 43-40 on a Hope Slater free throw with 4:45 left in regulation.
The Breakers would put the game out of reach with an 11-3 run to give them a 52-43 victory.
Following the game, head coach Kelly Nieskens praised the fight in his team after getting behind double figures. He said after coming off losses against two of the better teams in the state in Twin Bridges and Townsend, the team came out fighting and with energy against a good opponent in Loyola, and that was really good to see.
Nieskens said freshman Macee Patritti gave the team a nice spark, and having her and Hope Slater play key minutes off the bench was something the team hasn't had a lot of this season.
He was also pleased with the team being able to score from both the inside and outside, adding it makes the team less predictable.
"The philosophy is that if something isn't working you have got to change it up a bit, and that's what we're trying to do. We gained some confidence and are heading in the right direction," he said.
Whitehall was led in scoring by Dorothy Mastel with 14 points. Asha Noyes was also in double figures with 12. Slater finished with six and Patritti had five for the Lady Trojans. Allee Scafani added four and Meghan Johnson ended the night with two points on a key layup in the fourth quarter.
Nieskens said when the team made the run in the fourth quarter it was exciting to see them have some smiles.
Playing Thursday night against one loss and second ranked Townsend, the Lady Trojans were never able to get on track in the 48 to 15 loss. Noyes led the team with eight points. Britney Welker added three, Scafani finished with two, and Kendra Klapan had one point.
The Lady Trojans will next play Thursday on the road at Anaconda.
They will travel to play rival Jefferson County High School Friday. Whithehall will not be home again until a February 1 game against Manhattan.
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